[tlhIngan Hol] Relevance of language ability to third person singular pronouns

[qurgh lungqIj]

On Tue, Sep 11, 2018 at 10:01 AM, Steven Boozer <sboozer at uchicago.edu>
wrote:

> From: Lieven L. Litaer
> >>   Am 10.09.2018 um 17:44 schrieb Steven Boozer:
> > (qurgh, 11/10/2015):  I had a conversation with Marc about {'oH} and
> {ghaH}
> > and animals when I was at the qepHom. He said that if you (the speaker)
> believe
> > you can communicate with a creature, then it's a {ghaH}, if you don't
> believe you
> > can communicate with a creature, then it's {'oH}. It's down the personal
> beliefs
> > of the speaker, not a set formula.
> >
> >> Just for the record:  When Voragh quotes "qepHom YYYY" he usually means
> the
> >> "qepHom in Germany YYYY". But qurgh never was at that qepHom, so he
> probably
> >>  means a diferent one. (or it was a different person?)
>
> When I wrote "(qurgh, 11/10/2015)" it meant that qurgh posted the
> following statement to this list on November 10, 2015.  Whether qurgh's
> statement is true or not - i.e. which qepHom he was referring to - I have
> no way of knowing.  If I mis-quote someone or confuse the source, I always
> appreciate corrections.
>

I've had a few conversations with Marc about this kind of stuff over the
years, at both the qep'a' and at various qepHommey we both happen to be at.
I don't remember which one this specific conversation happened at, and I
don't believe my statement should be taken as grammatical canon, but more a
statement on how individuals use the language.

It's my belief that the use of {-wI'} over {-wIj}, {ghaH} over {'oH}, etc
says much more about the speaker's relationship with the object in question
than it does about the object itself. I don't believe there is an objective
list somewhere that says "X get's this suffix, Y get's this suffix". It's
all subjective. There is no right or wrong, there is only the successful,
or unsuccessful, transfer of ideas and concepts from one individual to the
next.

qurgh
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